Death toll from C.Africa clashes climbs to nearly 50

Former rebels of the Seleka coalition guard a group of men who were arrested after pretending to be Seleka rebels in Bangassou, on October 8, 2013

Former rebels of the Seleka coalition guard a building in Bangassou on October 8, 2013

Residents, who had found refuge in a nearby forest during clashes, go about their daily chores on October 8, 2013 after returning to Bangassou

Former rebels of the Seleka coalition patrol on October 8, 2013 in Bangassou

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The death toll from clashes between former rebels who now run the Central African Republic and local self-defence groups has climbed to nearly 50, a security official said Wednesday.

An earlier toll had said at least 30 were killed in Tuesday's outbreak of fresh sectarian violence in the country's northwest, with dozens more wounded.

"The latest toll of the clashes in Garga is nearly 50 dead, most of them people who were shot dead in cold blood in their homes," the official told AFP, referring to the small mining town caught up in the violence.

The fighting stopped Wednesday, allowing local Red Cross rescuers and relatives of those killed to bury their dead, said the source, who did not wish to be named.

Most Garga residents have left the town and "many are hiding in the bush," the source said.

Former rebels from the Seleka coalition set up base in the region several months ago, warning operators and others not to go near the mines.

Outraged farmers then created self-defence groups and attacked the group's base on Monday morning, said the official.

The former rebels reacted by "going from home to home searching for men and youths, who they systematically gunned down," after accusing them of working with the self-defence groups.

Witnesses contacted by AFP at Bossembele, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Garga, said residents "continue to flee the region on Wednesday with their belongings or empty-handed."

The poor, landlocked nation has been mired in chaos since the Seleka coalition of rebels ousted longtime president Francois Bozize in March.

A new government incorporating Seleka members and led by a former rebel chief, Michel Djotodia, was then put in place. Seleka was disbanded in name but continues to operate as a proto-militia in the region.

The country has seen an increase in clashes between the former rebel coalition that led the coup, who are Muslim, and the local self-defence groups formed by rural residents who are Christian, in common with around 80 percent of the population.

Djotodia, who has struggled for months to restore order and to distance himself from the very allies that put him in power, again sought to re-establish authority Wednesday by sacking communications minister Christophe Gazam Betty, the third ex-Seleka minister to lose his post in recent weeks.

The government also Wednesday appointed 12 commanders to head military taskforces of between 200 and 400 men around the country in a bid to improve the security situation.

The forces are a mix of soldiers from Central African Republic's former armed forces (FACA) and Seleka members who were integrated into the army.

As a result of the unrest, some 1.6 million people nationwide -- one third of the population -- need humanitarian aid and nearly 300,000 are internally displaced or have fled to neighbouring countries, according to UN figures.

The UN Security Council will vote on a resolution on Thursday that takes the first steps toward sending a peacekeeping force to end anarchy in the Central African Republic, diplomats said.

The draft resolution, obtained by AFP, expressed deep concern at the "total breakdown of law and order" since Bozize's ouster.

It calls on Seleka rebels to lay down their arms and for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to draw up a report in the next month on options to help a small African force already in the country.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is due in Bangui at the weekend to meet local officials and evaluate the situation.